The Trulli:Things to do

Things to do

The Puglian pace of life is slow. Given that you will be in our trulli surrounded by countryside with your own swimming pool, terrace and barbeque, just relaxing and enjoying the views should prove a restful and delightful experience. To be honest, this itinerary is ambitious, but because Puglia is not very well known to our customers we often get asked what attractions are available. In our first two week holiday to the area we didn’t manage do all the site seeing, but some holidaymakers are more dedicated “tourists” than others. We have put together this itinerary to show some of what is on offer.

The towns bustle in the mornings, but, like most Mediterranean areas, everything goes very quiet during the hottest part of the day. The locals retire for a siesta or decamp to the beach. There are literally tens of miles of beaches all along the coast, all different in character. There is no such thing as a “best” beach, just experiment randomly. If you don’t want to be back at the trulli and its pool in the afternoon, just drive along the coast until you find a beach that appeals.

Shops typically close from 1.00 – 4.30. The streets fill up again around 6.00. A major “activity” is to sit in a cafe or bar watching everyone else go by – the Italians even have a proper name for this: “Il Parade”. This is the act of wandering up and down the street without really needing to, to see and be seen!

All the towns have a few squares where the locals gather to talk. This usually works by age; so one square will be full of the older residents of the town, another with the teenagers, another with the children and so on. The age boundaries are rarely crossed, each group seems to like mixing with their contemporaries. This ritual is deeply set within Puglian psyche and worth observing. Even in the depths of winter in pouring rain and zero degrees the locals will appear for an hour or two in the local squares just to chat! I once asked what the subject matter of these endless daily gatherings with the same people could possibly be that kept everyone so entertained night after night. I was told “who has died” and “what I will be having for dinner tonight” were the major topics!

Assuming you want to do something a little more active than this, here are some suggestions:

Try some of the huge number of beaches that all have their own character or visit the many fortress villages on hills overlooking rolling Puglian vineyards and olive groves. You can visit olive farms and refineries to watch the oil being made.

Food

When it all gets a bit tiring, collapse into a coffee shop, gelateria to try the huge number of flavours of homemade ice creams or eat at one of the many restaurants offering distinctive Pugliase cuisine – which is quite different from the rest of Italy. The prices are much lower than typical tourist areas, huge homemade pizza can be had for €7, a large 3 course dinner with wine for €35.